The present invention generally relates to telecommunications enclosures for data communications equipment. More specifically, the present invention relates to enclosures to house data communications network equipment in a suspended ceiling system using passive cooling.
Data networking equipment is used within offices to provide connectivity between computers within a private network on the premise and to provide connectivity to external networks via public connections such as the Internet or other types of public interconnects. Typically, the public network connection is cabled or feed wirelessly to an equipment room in the private building and is connected to the private in-building network using appropriate telecommunications equipment. The point of transition from the public network to the private network in the equipment room is called the demarcation point. Within the private building, on the private side of the demarcation point, the network is called a premises network, and is comprised of core, distribution, and access routers and switches which appropriately route or switch data packets throughout the premises network, or connect data packets to the public network by way of the demarcation point.
Within the private building, premises networking equipment installed on the private side of the demarcation point may also be installed within telecommunications rooms, which are commonly located on each floor or level of the building. From the telecommunications rooms, data cabling is distributed throughout the floor of the building to work areas that house PCs and other networked devices. The data networking equipment is generally standardized as to its width and height, so that the networking equipment can be mounted in standardized racks using standardized mounting features designed for the networking equipment. The standardized mounting width is about 19.75″ and standardized height is about 1.75″. The standardized height is often referred to as a rack mount unit. The telecommunications room is generally a secured ventilated room that physically and environmentally protects the equipment installed within the telecommunications room.
In most cases, the cabling from the telecommunications room is run horizontally across the level of the building to work areas located on the same level as the telecommunications room. These cabling runs are called horizontal cable runs. The horizontal cable runs may connect directly to PCs in the work area or to other networking equipment within telecommunications enclosures. The purpose of the telecommunications enclosures is to provide secure restricted access to networking equipment. The telecommunications enclosures may also provide cooling and environmental protection to the networking equipment. Unlike the telecommunications room, the telecommunications enclosure is mounted within the workspace area. The workspace area is where the networked end devices, such as PCs, laptops, printers, projectors, monitors, etc. reside. The workspace area can be a classroom, meeting room, office cubicle area, laboratory, etc. This hierarchy of building a data network through the equipment room, the telecommunications room, and the telecommunications enclosure is called structured cabling, which is used to provide optimal data throughput in the private building.
The telecommunications enclosure is commonly a floor or wall mounted metal cabinet which contains standardized rack mount features for standardized rack mountable networking equipment. The drawback with a floor or wall mounted telecommunications enclosure is that it occupies commonly precious space within the private building workspace. Another form of the telecommunications enclosure is a metal cabinet which is installed in a raised floor, as is often the case in computer rooms and other highly networked facilities. Another location to mount the telecommunications enclosure is within the air handling space above a suspended ceiling or directly on the suspended ceiling system. Horizontal cabling can be easily run in the air handling space using suitable plenum rated cabling above the suspended ceiling and connected to the telecommunications enclosure. Mounting the telecommunications enclosure in the ceiling conserves precious work space. However, there may be building construction, fire and electrical code problems related to a ceiling installation of the telecommunications enclosure. For the equipment to be mounted above the suspended ceiling system, precautions must be taken to avoid the spread of flame and smoke. This requires the equipment to be “plenum rated” or installed within a suitable non-flammable enclosure, which may not be ventilated. Access to the equipment above the drop ceiling may need to be restricted to avoid the spread of dust and contamination. In some environments, especially hospitals, it is desirable to not lift ceiling tiles in a suspended ceiling tile system, in order to mitigate the spread of dirt and infections. Suspended ceiling systems are designed to provide a certain degree of protection against the spread of fire and in some cases, smoke. If the telecommunications enclosure is to be constructed as part of the ceiling system, the telecommunications enclosure must be designed in such a way as to not degrade the fire protection afforded by the suspended ceiling system. Finally, there is commonly very little room above the suspended ceiling tile due to the presence of ductwork, piping, wire-trays, joists, and other structural components. The ceiling mounted telecommunications enclosure often has very little “depth” with which to contain networking equipment.
Existing telecommunications enclosures designed to mount in the ceiling system are generally closed, locking metal cabinets. They support the enclosed equipment above the ceiling tile within the air handling space. Because the cabinet is closed, ventilation to cool the active networking equipment is required. Fans and vent holes may not be permitted within the air handling space above the suspended ceiling, as they essentially introduce the equipment into the air handling space. Also, existing cabinets are quite deep in order to store the networking equipment entirely above the suspended ceiling. This may create a problem when installing the cabinet, when air-handling space above the ceiling system is restricted in depth.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a ceiling mounted telecommunications enclosure to be installed into a standard suspended ceiling system.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a telecommunications enclosure with passive cooling from areas other than air handling space above a suspended ceiling system.